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Rabanal Del Camino to Molinaseca

I woke up feeling rested and well enough to walk. I will walk to a village and then determine if I will stay there or walk to the next village. It is a miracle what a lot of rest, love, and nutrition will do to heal a body.

The first village we walk to is Foncebadon. It was the home of the 12th century hermit Gaucelmo who built a church and Pilgrim hospital there. In recent years there has been a lot of renovation of abandoned houses and of the main street.

A rest area with a palloza in Foncebadon.

Vern has a coffee, I have orange juice and then we continue up the mountain. It takes awhile to walk to an elevation of 1,504 meters, (4,934 feet) above sea level to Cruz de Ferro.

The “monument” at Cruz de Ferro.

Cruz de Ferro is a place where Pilgrims seem to take time to honor their journey, or the “journey” of loved ones. Many Pilgrims add a stone from home or other token of love and blessing to the base of the cross or to the great pile that “witnesses” our journey. Vern left a shirt that he had worn while walking the Camino de Santiago in 2009 and now has worn this year to Cruz de Ferro. I left a Disabled American Veterans Life Member Patch in honor of Anthony, my son Jason's father, and in honor of all Veterans from around the world. At the moment of placing the patch I also “felt” a prayer for the healing of all civilians, everywhere, touched by any kind of violence.

The patch and other symbols of healing and love.

The next village: Manjarin, population of 1. Yes, I have read that the official population count of Manjarin is 1: Tomas, the hospitalero. I love this place. There is an outside toilet, solar panels, and an open fire.

The mountain refuge, Manjarin.

While walking around at Manjarin I met a couple on bicycles. They opened their front door and started riding toward Santiago, Spain on the Camino de Santiago from their home in Askes, Holland.

Janny and Janryn from Holland.

We took many breaks today. I walked slowly and felt good enough to continue. We walked through the mountain villages of El Acebo and Riego de Ambros.

Janice from Belgium.

When I saw Janice coming from the direction of Santiago I had to ask her, “Did you come from Santiago”? Right after I asked her I realized that talking while pushing a heavy bicycle up a mountain road is not easy. I quickly asked her if it was ok to take a photo, dropped my sticks, and pushed on the back of her bicycle for a short distance.

Irwin.

We continued down the mountain to the town of Molinaseca. We crossed the river and were looking for a place to stay when Irwin from Germany saw us. He began to let us know about the town and showed us where the market was. Vern wanted to get food supplies for the next day. Irwin waited for us and then led us to the Hostal where he was staying. What a beautiful place, truly a museum of art, artifacts, and a family's history.

5 thoughts on “Rabanal Del Camino to Molinaseca”

Hello, I have been keeping up with your blog for a while now. I am thoroughly enjoying your accounts of this walk. I am going to do the Le Puy route to Muxia starting next march. You said that there was a 1504 meter elevation for you. How many miles did it take to climb the 1500m and do you know what the incline % was? It sounds a little steep. Is this the steepest incline so far? Keep going strong and may God bless your journey.

Hi Nancy and Vern,
I am glad to read that you are feeling better Nancy.
I followed all your adventures on the Camino from Le Puy without missing any post, it was really great to be able to follow you day by day.
Things have not been easy for you guys! First snow then rain and mud, after that, heat and now sickness, but you are almost arrived in Santiago and all these obstacles that you overcame make what you will achieve even more amazing!
My parents are visiting me in Nice these days, they are saying hi. I have translated some of your blog posts for them.
We all hope the best for your last week on the camino, take care!

PS: I think Vern is jealous of Nancy taking a picture of Irwin, he managed to sneak into the pic, in the mirror behind him! Haha 😀